Abducting the Truth
The SCI FI Channel takes a leading role in the search for the truth about UFOs.
By Kathie Huddleston

SCI FI Magazine, October 15, 2002

In early July of 1947, something crashed in the desert near Roswell, New Mexico. Now, 55 years later, mystery still shrouds an event that may well have impacted how little we know about UFOs today. In a 2002 Roper poll, 72% of Americans believe that the federal government is not telling us everything it knows about UFOs.

Because SCI FI Channel believes the UFO phenomenon has not received the high level of attention it deserves in the scientific community, as well as in Congress and the national media, the Channel will take an active role in the creation of the Coalition for Freedom of Information (CFI). According to Larry Landsman, director of special projects for SCI FI Channel, this independent alliance will bring together both those who have studied and been exposed to the phenomenon, and who believe it is worthy of further investigation. The formation of the Coalition will be announced in early October during a press conference in Washington, DC.

According to Landsman, since 1947, the United States government has put up roadblocks to prevent the release of information it possesses on UFOs. In fact, most UFO researchers believe that significant classified information is being withheld.

Government agencies continue to deny that UFOs are an issue of national security, while at the same time refusing to release information under the Freedom of Information Act for the reasons of national security, stated Landsman. Furthermore, the government continues to insist that none of the UFO evidence investigated represents developments beyond "present-day scientific knowledge" and that no evidence exists that UFOs are "extraterrestrial vehicles." According to UFO researchers, information that has been obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, along with some official government agency reports, contradict these conclusions.

The Coalition for Freedom of Information will work to promote credibility in the eyes of a scientific community that has long discouraged research into the question of UFOs, by creating a public forum where well-respected members of the scientific community can discuss the issues in a neutral setting. Also, the Coalition will work to promote Congressional interest and action by bringing together credible witnesses and experts who can raise the level of debate, as well as help foster serious media coverage so that the facts are presented to the general public in an objective and authoritative way.

www.freedomofinfo.org (http://www.freedomofinfo.org)

Thats pretty sweet! Go Sci Fi

maybe more will follow now that one has stepped up

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/news/s_100850.html

By Ann Saul Dudurich
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, November 6, 2002

On Dec. 9, 1965, a fiery orange object was observed streaking across the evening sky. Witnesses in Westmoreland County said the object appeared to bank and turn before gliding into a wooded ravine near Kecksburg, Mt. Pleasant Township. Military personnel arrived a short time later, purportedly keeping curious onlookers at bay while the area was searched.

Several eyewitnesses stated they saw a large, acorn-shaped object being removed from the area on a tarp-covered flatbed truck. Yet the Air Force has never confirmed anything was found. The official explanation: A meteorite.

Nearly 37 years later, Kecksburg is once again in the national spotlight.

During a recent news conference, the Sci Fi Channel challenged government secrecy, calling for declassification of records concerning unidentified aerial phenomena, commonly known as UFOs. To help the cause, Sci Fi joined forces with John Podesta, former White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, and his public relations firm, PodestaMattoon. Together, they are backing a Freedom of Information Act initiative aimed at cases involving the retrieval of objects of unknown origin.

Sci Fi has obtained the services of Lobel, Novins and Lamont, a Washington, D.C., law firm, and has commissioned California-based investigative reporter Leslie Kean to document the Freedom of Information Act request. It has also formed the Coalition for Freedom of Information to generate public support.

The Kecksburg case is cited in the group's request for documents through the Freedom of Information Act, the 1966 law that grants the right to request access to federal agency records or information.

According to Larry Landsman, Sci Fi's director of special projects, the cable channel is lending its resources in an effort to "figure out what's going on in our skies," and, more specifically, what happened that night in Kecksburg.

"It's a real mystery; a fascinating story," he said. "And we just want to know what's going on."

On Sci Fi's behalf, Kean made the trip to western Pennsylvania Tuesday to interview witnesses, and tour the crash site area.

"I know there have been other requests in the past that haven't gone anywhere," Kean said. "But, this is the first time an effort is being made which has some resources and legal power behind it. <#201> There is a consensus here to take this as far as we possibly can, and really demand and insist that people get this information because it's their right to have it. And, if that means going to court, or whatever it takes, we're really going to go for it."

According to Kean, the Kecksburg case is a "natural," in part because of a large number of witnesses and the reported recovery of a physical object.

"Another reason we looked at this case is all the work done by Stan Gordon," she said. "We're not starting from ground zero here."

Gordon, a Greensburg resident who was 16 years old in 1965, has devoted "years and years" to solving the unsolved mystery. His efforts to obtain top-secret records, however, have failed.

"Will these documents ever be declassified? I have my doubts," Gordon said with a smile, "But I am always hopeful. It's very important that anyone connected with this case come forward now and tell what they know."